Crookneck plant has weird deformed thingies

[jemsister]

What the heck is this? I have normal fruits, but then I have a few of these as well. This one pictured was pollinated and is actually growing, but clearly it is not normal.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Not sure what causes the blossoms to fuse, but that is how it starts. I've read it is quite common with crook and straight.

Eric

[jemsister]

So what happens, it just ends up dying and falling off or something? I have probably two or three on there like this, the rest are normal. Weird!

[applestar]

I can't tell if it's a fused blossom. Odd fruit shape can also occur from uneven/incomplete pollination.

[rainbowgardener]

We think of pollination as being a yes or no thing. But in fact for full development of the squash, there needs to be one or two pollen grains delivered for each seed that will be in the fruit. That may take up to seven bee visits to that flower! Less than that results in small, wrinkled or deformed fruit. I don't know if that is what is happening here, but it is a possibility.

[sheeshshe]

We think of pollination as being a yes or no thing. But in fact for full development of the squash, there needs to be one or two pollen grains delivered for each seed that will be in the fruit. That may take up to seven bee visits to that flower! Less than that results in small, wrinkled or deformed fruit. I don't know if that is what is happening here, but it is a possibility.

WOW, that is interesting!!! I never knew that. I'm so glad I clicked on this thread how fascinating!

[jemsister]

We think of pollination as being a yes or no thing. But in fact for full development of the squash, there needs to be one or two pollen grains delivered for each seed that will be in the fruit. That may take up to seven bee visits to that flower! Less than that results in small, wrinkled or deformed fruit. I don't know if that is what is happening here, but it is a possibility.

That's what I would have thought as well, except the ovary of the flower itself didn't seem to form properly. It didn't have that crookneck shape, it was more like a marble. I hand pollinated it, and it started to grow. I'm very curious to see what it will do. Definitely screwed up from the get go though. One other thing I've noticed with these particular flowers is that the stigma was also abnormal. They aren't normal size, and they seem almost closed in a way.

[Cola82]

Well it should be fascinating to follow their development.

[jal_ut]

Here is another weird one from crookneck squash.

[jemsister]

Whoa! I had no idea plants did this sort of thing.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Fukushima

[applestar]

Well... Have there been more incidences of the abnormal growths than usual this year? Have to admit I've noted a few... Enough to make me wonder, but maybe anomalous growths in itself is normal....

Would there be more along the north-west coast? (Anchorage is the closest trans-Pacific hop to Japan....)

[sheeshshe]

I haven't had any abnormal growth on anything this year . I'm on the north east coast